AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose: What's Next After WWE No Mercy 2016?

WWE No Mercy 2016 kicked off with a major bang in the form of a WWE World Championship Triple Threat match between John Cena, Dean Ambrose and defending champ AJ Styles.

Despite having the deck stacked against him, Styles reigned supreme with his title intact, leaving fans to question what is next for him, Cena and Ambrose.

Styles had his hands full heading into the event with the two former world champs. But while Cena and Ambrose were too focused on proving a point to each other, Styles had his sights set on retaining his title at all costs, and he was successful in doing just that.

Although Cena and Ambrose simultaneously forced The Phenomenal One to submit, the match continued on until Styles ambushed Cena from behind with a chair and pinned him for the victory. Similar to his performance at SummerSlam, he once again proved he was the superior Superstar over the self-proclaimed "face who runs the place."

With WWE No Mercy 2016 officially in the books, fans now look forward to what the future holds for each of the three athletes as well as the WWE World Championship.

Credit: WWE.com

As I discussed at length in an article several weeks ago, it was imperative that Styles walked out of the pay-per-view as the WWE world champion. He captured the championship only one month ago and should be in possession of the prize through the remainder of the year at the very least.

Styles has had nothing short of a sensational year since making his highly anticipated WWE debut in the Royal Rumble match. Through his stellar series of matches with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, Cena and Ambrose, he has been the best all-around WWE wrestler in 2016.

Thus, having him retain his title Sunday night was the right move, but now we wait to find out who will be the next contender to the title. Cena's taking the pinfall loss instead of Ambrose was interesting if only because he isn't often on the losing end of multi-man matches.

It was around this time last year that Cena took time off from WWE programming to film the first season of American Grit. With the show being renewed for a second season (h/t Deadline.com), it is possible that WWE scripted the match's outcome to write him out of storylines again.

Cena was determined to make history at No Mercy by becoming a record-matching 16-time world champion, and although he was unsuccessful on Sunday, his championship aspirations are far from over.

It is almost inevitable that Cena will achieve that feat, but it shouldn't occur any time soon and not at Styles' expense. In fact, WWE should save that story for WrestleMania 33, regardless of whether Styles is still holding the gold at that point.

In the meantime, Styles can keep himself busy in feuds with other stars on SmackDown Live, including Randy Orton. Granted, The Viper lost to Bray Wyatt in the No Mercy main event, but he is bound to enter the world title picture before long.

As for Ambrose, he appeared to be on the verge of transitioning into a full-fledged heel in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view. WWE can continue going in that direction with him in Cena's absence, but that should be the first feud the leader of the Cenation has upon his return to the ring if he does indeed disappear for a few months.

The Lunatic Fringe could earn another title opportunity since he wasn't technically beaten at No Mercy. The back-to-back bouts Styles and Ambrose contested at Backlash and on SmackDown were entertaining, and a third match between them would be no different.

From how seeing Ambrose will react to his latest loss to learning Cena's status to discovering who will step up to challenge Styles for the strap, the upcoming episode of SmackDown Live is shaping up to be must-see on the heels of a newsworthy No Mercy PPV.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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